For the Children

Democrats successfully pose as being "for the children," or the "education candidate," while pursuing policies that are utterly destructive to those goals. That's why it's rare to have liberals admit the truth, as the Boston Globe did in the first paragraph of an education story today.

Surging levels of poverty and immigration present some of the most serious obstacles to boosting student achievement, according to a new report being released today that examines the first 15 years of the state's 1993 Education Reform Act.

Isn't it supposed to be racist to suggest that failing to control the flow of immigrants into the country, and their nation of origin, might be making it harder to make ends meet on education, or healthcare?

Researchers do not know for certain what is causing some school districts to experience changing demographics, but they suspect that middle-class flight from some districts and the settlement of new immigrant families, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet, are significant factors. In many cases, the affected school districts, mostly urban centers with reasonably priced housing, are seeing simultaneous increases in low-income students and nonnative speakers of English.

Non-native speakers of English are a burden on urban areas? How could the Globe suggest such a thing? Is this the result of laying off too many editors?

"Many immigrant families don't have the resources other families have to buy their youngsters books to read or take youngsters to historical sites that are so abundant in our area," said Thomas Stella, the (Everett) school system's assistant superintendent. "They don't have the same opportunities. As a result they play catch up for a good portion of the school year."

Therefore, the liberal rag is admitting that allowing millions of people to stroll into the country unchecked each year from a single, non-English speaking country would be an anti-education, anti-child, anti-poor and anti-minority policy.

This cautionary note looms large over the otherwise significant gains achieved over the past 15 years, including steady improvement on state and national standardized tests and increased equity among school districts on per-pupil spending.

So towns in Massachusetts like Randolph, which has experienced a 272% increase in poor students, are struggling to educate under the deadly hammer of policies pushed by the so-called pro-education liberals.

"The current formula, as progressive as it tried to be, isn't sufficient," Silverman said. "Few if any social service agencies are serving Randolph. . . . Much support for kids and families has to come through the schools. Randolph is trying to do that but needs additional help."

Three years ago, new Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tried to reorganize and take over the vast Los Angeles Unified School District because of the disastrous condition of the schools.Villaraigosa told some of the truth.

“We’ll never realize the promise of our people, we won’t tap our talent, L.A. won’t be one city if we shrug our shoulders and adopt the path of least resistance, if we choose to remain a city where 81 percent of middle school students are trapped in failing schools,” Villaraigosa said.

He was willing to stand up to the Teachers Unions, largely responsible for the horrid condition of our schools.

Villaraigosa also proposed expanding the number of charter schools in the district “to give families more choices and to keep positive pressure on the school bureaucracy.”

He even wanted uniforms!

Other parts of his proposal would require school uniforms, longer school days and school calendars, better pay for teachers and schools that can control their own budgets.

While he told some of the truth, Villaraigosa wasn't as reckless as the Boston Globe. He never mentioned illegal immigration as the obvious cause of the problem making the schools in LA the worst in the nation.

Accounting for the magnet that Los Angeles has been for illegal immigration, the Almanac suggests an estimated illegal immigrant population closer to one million in Los Angeles County (with close to 400,000 in the City of Los Angeles). We further estimate this population, if illegal immigration continues unabated, to grow to 1.3 million by the year 2010.

Once in a while, liberals slip and tell the truth. More of it would be good for the children.